Feminist Leadership
Bin-Alin Hakbi’it Malu (Sisters Empowering Each Other): Resourcing feminist leadership and collective care in Timor-Leste
Feminist Leadership
Power in Practice: A Feminist Leadership Program for Collective Liberation
Find the Joy was a three-month feminist leadership incubator and accelerator that supported 25 feminist activists from historically marginalised backgrounds with mentorship, care, and space to develop bold, values-led ideas to end violence against women and girls.
Alongside the incubator, we developed a global e-learning course and creative communications tools to scale intersectional feminist leadership affordably, accessibly, and at pace. Funded by the Ford Foundation, the project built on our previous work in Timor-Leste and Mparntwe (Alice Springs). It aimed to strengthen the capacity, wellbeing and visibility of feminist leaders, while incubating transformative ideas to challenge harmful systems and advance gender justice globally.
The Challenge
Feminist leaders around the world continue to be under-resourced, overextended, and too often expected to pour from an empty cup. Donor funding has typically focused on projects, not people, contributing to burnout, limited succession planning, and underinvestment in strategic movement-building. At the same time, innovation ecosystems, especially in start-up and tech spaces, remain overwhelmingly shaped by cis, white, heterosexual men. This entrenched imbalance sidelines the radical and deeply contextual knowledge feminist leaders bring, and limits opportunities to develop bold, systems-level solutions that centre care, equity, and lived experience. And while global interest in feminist leadership has grown – from political arenas to workplace culture – accessible, practical tools to support this kind of leadership in action remain scarce, especially for those working across intersecting systems of oppression.
The Solution
Our approach was values-led, creative, and rooted in care. Find the Joy combined a live, in-person incubator with a globally accessible online course, designed to support the capacity, wellbeing and leadership of feminist activists working at the front lines of change.
Together, these components aimed to:
- Equip leaders with practical tools and frameworks to lead from an intersectional, feminist perspective
- Incubate and accelerate bold new ideas to transform harmful structures and eliminate violence against women
- Expand access to feminist leadership supports affordably and at scale
The course and incubator were built using EQI’s core methodologies: trauma-informed, human-centred, collaborative, curious, joyful, and grounded in lived experience. They drew on learnings from our previous feminist leadership programs in Timor-Leste and Central Australia, as well as ongoing work with feminist leaders across education and workplace settings. This wasn’t just a leadership program – it was an intentional investment in people: their brilliance, their boldness, and their power to create lasting, values-led change.
The Impact
By the project’s conclusion in September 2024, Find the Joy had not only supported 25 feminist leaders through deep, sustained mentorship and community but had sparked a movement of bold ideas and renewed energy across diverse contexts.
Outcomes included:
- A fiercely connected cohort of feminist leaders who reclaimed their power, built resilient networks of care, and developed transformative strategies to dismantle systemic violence and inequality
- The launch of a globally accessible e-learning course, amplifying feminist leadership tools to thousands more – breaking down barriers of geography, resources, and access
- Early-stage incubation of groundbreaking, values-led innovations with the potential to reshape policies, workplaces, and communities worldwide
- Tangible shifts in confidence, wellbeing, and leadership practice among participants, empowering them to lead unapologetically in their workplaces, movements, and lives
- Participants shared powerful reflections that reveal the profound personal and collective transformation fostered by the program:
“The session on self-care was really powerful, especially the drivers of self-regulation. I started the year feeling depleted… The model we discussed was a turning point. Since then I’ve been getting through things again and have my energy back.”
“The sense of community has been great. I’ve never been in a group like this before. It’s been very inspiring. The support and encouragement has been very empowering.”
“Feeling safe to explore my own identity in an open space… I’ve learnt I can be a leader and have an impact.”
“I’ve felt very connected in this group. This is something I can draw strength from and grow with. I feel a lot more comfortable, confident and assured in the direction I want to go and the impact I want to have. This space has really allowed me to be myself and be comfortable. There’s no harsh sense of judgement.”
By investing deeply in feminist leaders as whole people – their creativity, courage, and care – Find the Joy helps support movements that are strong, connected, joyful, and ready to transform the world.
Interested in accessing the online learning for yourself? Explore the course here.
